Thursday, June 17, 2010

It's a complete difference of opinion-- I turn it on, he turns it off, and it's been that way since the very beginning. I'm talking about lighting-- specifically outdoor lighting. You know-- The kind that scares the Boogie Man away.

Call me a wimp, or as I prefer, cautious and a good neighbor, but I believe the outside of our house should be lit up like a Christmas tree from sunset to sunrise. It sends a clear message that ours is not a house to be burglarized and it helps keep our 'hood safe, right?

Beloved Husband pretty much thinks that's crazy and turns our single front porch light on as late as possible (if at all), then turns it off when we go to bed. Period. He claims he's being energy efficient and saving the planet. Ha!

On a good night, I can turn on all five outdoor lights in the front yard and distract Beloved from turning them off til morning. On the rare occasion I succeed, it only encourages him to double up on his "light turning off" obsession which defeats my purpose all together.

It's a losing battle-- for him, not me. I'm not giving up. All the lights in the house are on as I type this and I mean ALL-- inside and out. I figure the more that are on the better my negotiation options are. Wish me luck!

1) Leave a message on THIS post and/or ANY of my NEW posts between now and Midnight Pacific Time, June 25, 2010. ONE entry per post but, the more you read and comment on new posts, the more entries you'll receive, so keep coming back!

2) Blog about this Giveaway (linking to THIS POST) and receive TWO extra entries. Leave me TWO additional messages on THIS post with your linking URL. (If you have more than one blog, please only post about the Giveaway once.)

3) You must have a blog to enter. No exceptions.

4) Make sure your comment links to your email or leave your email address so I can contact you if you win.

Note: This is a one-time use $80 gift certificate from CSN Stores. The Gift Certificate will be emailed directly to the winner. CSN Certificate applies to merchandise ONLY. Shipping is ADDITIONAL. Drawing will be random and results are final. Disclaimer: I did not receive any compensation for this CSN Giveaway. I was given the opportunity to provide a giveaway for my readers and I jumped on it.

We just leave the back light on, my belief is if anyone wants to get in they will whether we have lights on or off. I am more insistant about having the front door locked when we are in the back yard....wonderful giveaway, take care....

I have a similar argument with my daughter, only she leaves them because... well, frankly, I don't know why! All I know is that I can come home turn off anywhere between 5 and 11 lights through out the house! my electric bill went from $120 (give or take) to $60 a month while they were away at college. It was nice while it lasted.

You found a really nice picture though of outside lighting. Wow.We don't use a lot of lights in our house. For one thing, we go to bed when it is still light out, we read for a half hour and then hubby goes to sleep. He keeps to a strict time schedule with his meds and sleep to keep from having an imbalance with the bipolar disorder. I usually read another half hour and then go to sleep just as it is getting dark. We are up early and have lights on in the kitchen so we can make coffee. But we don't use the outside lights and neither do any of our neighbors. It is just a quiet simple cul-de-sac and nobody wants any light shining into a window.

I like natural light in the day and lamplight at night! And total darkness when I sleep ... unless it's raining and also daytime, in which case I'll make an exception and go toes-up at the drop of a hat.

I either have an outside light on or I forget and leave the tv on when I fall asleep. Sometimes I don't turn on the outside light - I hate to let burglers see where they are going. I hope they fall over something and I hear them yell oh s----!

I only have an outside light on if I'm expecting someone to arrive in the dark! (Like tonight - I'm off to the airport shortly and a taxi is coming. :-)) But I like lots of lighting inside. I don't like gloom!

A few years ago, a man was shot by a stranger at his house at the end of the street. One of my neighbors sent a flyer around our little street, asking everyone to leave their porch lights on at night, to light up our neighborhood. I leave my front light on all night every night, and so do almost all of my neighbors. I would rather save my life or someone else's than a little electricity.

we turn all the exterior lights on when company is coming over. most nights, the house is just lit up from inside. the only light that comes on automatically is our back deck light. re the lights/lights off contest not an issue here. the hall light stays on at night for miss daisy, the rest of the house is DARK! xoxoxox

Yesterday I was picking out a bottle of wine when I got interrupted for less than 45 seconds. In that time he had entered the room, zeroed in on the chandelier over the wine rack and flipped the switch. I couldn't believe it. I was like: Um, do you mind? I'm trying to choose a bottle of wine.

Oh.

The light goes back on, I get my wine, the light goes off.

Forget about outside lighting. Our house is just begging for a burglar.

After reading the comments, it seems all men are the same.Last week, I was on my way to work (after our siesta, so it´s around 2 pm). Of course it was still light out, but I turned on the outside porch light, so that when I come home from work (around 6, when it´s already dark) I would have a friendly light greeting me. My husband noticed and asked why the light was on? I explained and he thought I was CRAZY! He really thought I had lost it. Twice he asked me why?? I just turned it off while he was looking and when he had gone I turned it back on again. I guess it´s a man thing..... :)

What we do is have one lamp on a timer in the living room which turns on at dusk and goes off around 2am. We also have a walkway lights and a uplight on a tree in our front yard that have a sun sensor on them so they're on all night. But, we're also kind of lucky that we have a streetlight located on the corner of our property that also illuminates a good portion of our yard.

And to return your gracious gestures of always advertising my challenges, i too will gladly grab your image and place your contest on my sidebar!! Thank you Joanna for being such a great blog friend!

We thought about getting motion activated lights for outside but weren't convinced that our 4 cats wouldn't continually set them off - making us the disco divas of the north coast! We do have a varity of outside lighting but it tends to be used only when entertaining. It's actually more likely to be me to switch off outside lights because of environmental impact, but then I don't live near a big city. If I did, I suspect I'd think differently. (The house in the photo? Oh... I could make do)! ;)

I turn lights OFF all the time...inside and outside and even at work if someone leaves their office and doesn't return. No point in leaving them on. I drive everyone crazy...my husband at home and people at work. :) I love it!

Maybe it's just where I live but most houses have accent lighting and I love the glow it gives to everything. I want uplighting in my back yard. Time to string the carnival lights now that I have a party coming up. They will stay up all summer and when it's party time I add the lanterns. I just love ambient lighting.

Hey there, hi there, ho there. I don't actually want to enter the giveaway, although I thank you for the opportunity. I just have one of those rather fortunate lives (may that continue) where I don't really want for much and I'd rather leave the treat for someone else.

Having said that, I still have stuff to say, because that's how I roll.

Motion-activated lights is what you need :-) It's a good compromise for hubby's frugality/environmental responsibility and your feeling of safety. They will only light up when motion is detected outside the house.

I first saw them outside a neighbors house, when my husband and I would be out for a stroll, as soon as we hit the patch of sidewalk in front of that house? Illumination!

Plus, even if you don't have an alarm system, anything rigged to a motion-activated switch gives the illusion that you do. So thieves, would-be murderers and the occasional startled deer steer clear.

And no, I don't leave the lights on. Many moons ago I was a camp counselor and strangely enough, in the woods, you're often safer in the dark, than when carrying a light source. Your eyes adjust, so that you can see threats, rather than wondering what's outside the perimeter of light.

Plus, my husband and I have compatible attitudes towards the electric bill. We both like 'em low.

Actually, I live in a rural area where everyone is encouraged to use as little outdoor light as possible and as a result we have the most magnificent night sky. I'm just in awe of all the stars you can see when they're not obscured by outdoor lighting. I'm afraid I'm with your hubby on this one.

Oh man, save on the bills and shut that baby off! Well, I guess I might if I lived in a scary neighborhood. We live in the country and I feel pretty safe ...plus I'm super cheap :) Thanks for the giveaway!

No... the porch light is right outside our bedroom window and it keeps me up! I used to leave it on for when the kids were out, and they were supposed to turn it off when they got home. Nights they forgot... I stayed awake worrying!Good luck in your battle, though!

We leave a small light on in our kitchen and one on in our bathroom. When we have guests, which is often, we also have lights on in their bath and study. Sometimes we keep the porch light on but need to get a more energy efficient one I think which we could do if I win!!!

We stopped leaving the lights on. We've got two big dogs (although for the most part they'd sleep through anything going on in the yard itself...but if they heard that door creek open...someone better look out!) LOLs.s.burke (at!) juno (dot) com

I really only leave the outside light on when I'm expecting somebody to come home and they're parked in the driveway. Now that there are just two cars and they're both in the garage, I never have that light on.

I never really thought about it too much. We always leave the porch light on, mostly because I sometimes come home or leave the house when it's dark so I need to be able to see but in your situation I'm on your side: Better safe then sorry!

We used to have the same thing-I put lights on and he shuts them off. The porch light is usually left alone though because once one of our neighbors commented that our home looks so warm and inviting along a dark street of lightless porches...score one! Please enter me in your giveaway, too!~Nancy

We have farm lights...dusk to dawn lights that are automatic. As to the house, we leave the office lights on all the time because they are those "energy efficient" haha lights that burn out more quickly if turned on and off. I use a LOT of nightlights as I hate stumbling around in the dark but hate to turn on the high wattage lights. We also have four dogs, one of whom sleeps downstairs so she is my early warning system.

Please enter me in the giveaway..and NO ..my outdoor lights are not on unless anticipating company..indoor lights spill out enough to light the porch..solicitors shouldn't be out after dark anyway..Warm sandy hugs..Loui♥

LIGHTS ON! MD travels a lot and I do not like being in the house without lots of light...inside and out. Having the dogs helps, but they're such friendly guys that the two smaller guys might just lick an intruder to death... These are the times I really miss by boys!

Oh oh oh how did I manage to miss this one...geesh sorry hon!! So...please add my name to the hat and I am sorry to come to late to add it to my blog too..next time for sure! I am the turner offer at our house..he leaves all the inside lights on at night...I turn them off..I like the outside lights on..he turns those off...sigh! I would love this one hon!!Hugs and love, Sarah

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